Daimler’s car2go to Launch in Washington, D.C. and Portland

car2go North America LLC, a subsidiary of Daimler North America Corp., announced Feb. 29 that it will launch in two new cities this month. The car2go car-sharing service will be available in Washington, D.C. beginning March 24 and in Portland, Ore. beginning March 31. The company said that it will first phase in 200 smart fortwo vehicles in each city.

“car2go is an integral part of Daimler’s overall mobility service strategy,” said Bodo Uebber, member of the board of management at Daimler AG and chairman of the supervisory board of Daimler Financial Services, the division of Daimler that has recently assumed responsibility for car2go. “And the success speaks for itself: Starting with an innovative idea three years ago, car2go today is a benchmark mobility business that expands rapidly.”

“Already more than 70,000 people worldwide are car2go members, using our smart urban transportation each and every day,” Uebber went on to say.

“We will continue this success story by bringing car2go to further cities worldwide step by step,” said Klaus Entenmann, chairman of the board of management of Daimler Financial Services.

car2go considers itself the first “free floating” car-sharing service, in which members can park in any legal parking space and don’t need to drive the vehicle back to its original location.

• By the minute: Members pay only for the time they use the car, by the minute, with discounted rates for hourly and daily use. There is no minimum amount of time that a car can be used — whether a member needs a car for 10 minutes or an entire day — members get in and drive, for as long as they want without a mandatory return time. Parking, fuel, maintenance and insurance are included at no additional cost, and there are no annual or monthly fees.

• On demand: Members can use the first available car2go they find, via a smartphone app, the car2go vehicle finder at car2go.com, by calling the customer call center or by locating an available car2go on the street. There is no need to make a reservation in advance because members have unrestricted and unlimited access to car2go vehicles 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Free floating: Members can pick up and drop off any car2go anywhere within the car2go Home Area — in any legal on-street parking space, including metered, non-metered and residential neighborhoods parking spaces. Members do not need to drive the car back to its original location or commit to a predetermined amount of time. They can drive the car for as long as they need it, park the car at their individual destination, end the rental by swiping the card on the windshield reader, and instantly the car becomes available for the next member to use.